[Rover]

Google and Facebook make up their very own "privacy rules" and no user has a real view on what that means. Your data gets sold and gone through and analysed and that is how they ear their money! 

 

The only company I trust with my info is Apple, they do not earn money from user data (and actively design stuff to protect it).

 

And so you can use Chrome for... typing letters and mails. Wow. Impressed. No photo processing, no photo editing, no serious video editing, just web browsing and typing.

My data can be backed up in the cloud with a Mac just as easily, only thing is it does not live in the cloud exclusively. So, I can do things when I have no internet access. I can manage files on multiple computers, the cloud and other sites with ease. I have a fully functional computer.

 

A bit contrived, that Google Chrome is conceptually ahead. I wonder why within Google itself, Apple computers are the standard for employees.

I have no horse in this race but I need to point out that forcing users to be connected all the time (last I checked, the premise of the Chrome OS is that not only user data, but also the software is also stored out there?) seems rather absurd to me. It may seem irrelevant if you're only staying at home with unlimited broadband connection, but when you're out and about (let alone abroad or in a place with no reliable and FREE internet connection), you're SOL. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

And for the record - I love the cloud, I back up all my data there (including 400+ GB of photos by now, and more to come), but forcing the user to dwell there [tinfoil hatter rant] seems like a conspiracy between the software makers and the internet providers to extract more connection fees from end users... [/tinfoil hatter rant]  Or, at the very least, a solution looking for a problem.

[toni-a]

Well I don't have much important data, I would be glad if the NSA are interested in my pictures

My medical files are stored on a local server, with regular backups and triple protection. It's the hospital that does all the work.

Privacy is not an issue for me, I can't install DPP or DXO on chrome and that's why I need my personal computer, so a chromebook is not an option.

Apple is way more expensive than PC and much more expensive for maintenance at least locally.

Got an overclocked AMD A10 plus full HD IPS LCD screen for 450$ what can I get for 450$ in mac land ?

Windows phone does everything I need Lumia 640 is 66$ go check its iPhone equivalent price, even in android world windows phone prices are more attractive with top quality hardware.

[Klaus]

 

A bit contrived, that Google Chrome is conceptually ahead. I wonder why within Google itself, Apple computers are the standard for employees.

 

ChromeOS is not for developers (as I mentioned).

Photoshop is already available online - it's not mature as is but once you got Gbit Internet, performance will not be an substantial issue. Your chromebook can be even weak because your images can be processed on a cloud engine (which will be constantly upgraded and maintained and scaled at will - unlike your local machine).

 

Describing the weaknesses of the ChromeOS at present is perfectly fine but the concept is superior on the mid to long term. 

As mentioned it is not my only machine - it is, however, a machine that I love to use for lots of stuff.

[Rover]

ChromeOS is not for developers (as I mentioned).

Photoshop is already available online - it's not mature as is but once you got Gbit Internet, performance will not be an substantial issue. Your chromebook can be even weak because your images can be process on a cloud engine (which will be constantly upgraded and maintained and scaled at will - unlike your local machine).

 

Describing the weaknesses of the ChromeOS at present is perfectly fine but it'll be the future. 

As mentioned it is not my only machine - it is, however, a machine that I'm using most of the time already.

"once you got Gbit Internet" - and therein lies the rub. What's the major point of a laptop if you can't work well on the go? Admittedly, I'm using my Windows laptop mostly at home but when I'm out, I don't need to be connected. It's simply not feasible anyway.

[toni-a]

So as far as I understand the future is for fast connections everywhere to large servers.

Quite logic the upcoming upgrades to 4G : 5G or whatever will be the name will make this a reality, we only have terminals that execute orders and receive final input.

Now I got the concept of chrome.

[Rover]

Well, again that looks like a method of hooking people on constant connection (a lot of it has happened now), and controlling what they do / how they do it. Sure as hell I don't want the mobile providers leeching extra money from me for the privilege of just being able to use my computer... Sounds like Big Brother to me all over again, only that this time it's the software providers and not the government (hey, wait...) And what am I supposed to do if I go to where the connection is absent or prohibitively expensive?

[Klaus]

I don't want to promote ChromeOS but it's not true that you have to be always on:

https://support.google.com/chromebook/an...4688?hl=en

 

And this is just Google's list of apps. On top of that there are several Chrome Apps (and, soon, Android apps). Admittedly, other than the Google apps most stuff is pretty immature.

 

Chromebooks are perfect for both schools and conventional office environment. They can be easily managed and because you do everything in your browser they are conceptually more secure than an operating system where you can (have to) install applications.

 

Again, Chromebooks are not for everybody but if you think they are still a niche product think again ...

http://www.cio.com/article/2970868/hardw...inner.html

As of now they are mostly a US game. Here in Australia Chromebooks are pretty much unknown. I had to import mine for instance (but I didn't want a low end model).

 

Of course, there's a reason why they are popular - they are dirt cheap. Take the new Acer Chromebook 14 for 299US$. 14", full HD IPS and an all metal design. And because they don't have all usual overhead they are FAST.

[Rainer]

If you think Google is evil just consider the fact that Google is a US company. If they violate their privacy guarantees, they are out of business due to lawsuits that will go into the gazillion dollar range. They just will not dare.

 

Please do not forget, that the ability to file such lawsuits mainly only apply to US citicens.

To a european, or australien, this point is next to entirely worthless.

[stoppingdown]

"Why have you been running that for years? For all the non-existent viruses roaming around?"

 

Well, for instance because I can receive Windows viruses with email attachment and I could inadvertently forward to others running a Windows machine. And because it's technically possible to have viruses on the Mac.

[JJ_SO]

Good practice, stoppingdown.

 

However, I still hesitate to use ClamXav because I think

1. it will get it's updates of virus signatures later than the PC scanners, therefore it only catches old malware.
   
2. why should I waste electric energy for something I never do? I never forward mails with attachments, standard-setting is "forward without attachment". And if I don't know the file extension or am sceptical about, I delete it anyway.
   
3. there are some online services to check for viruses, I'll let them do the dirty work.
   

Klaus, in Europe it is not allowed for any Europe based company to store sensitive data in a country with no European laws applying. I actually don't know much about this, but each article about Cloud-services I read in c't-magazine has some paragraph about this. So, no professional office work in Google cloud. Google can change it's conditions any time, they don't need our okay - which is fine to me because they make their money with their "free" services. That's what makes me suspecting.

 

I already need a hard-drive for my OS, and I need backup-drives. I'm fine with keeping my backups at home and NOT in a cloud.